Articles by Grant Gerke

Product diversification in the alternative protein segment keeps growing, so are established food manufacturers moving quickly to respond to consumers' demand for healthier and quirkier products?

A recent webinar produced by CESMII, a smart manufacturing organization, offers insights into how continuous improvement projects and data-driven upgrades can coexist in food plants.

The combination of advanced imaging, robotics and flexible, end-of-arm grippers allows an Israel-based food producer to automate pick-and-place operations for irregularly shaped foods.

A single-stream mechanical recycling pilot demonstration produces the rFlex bale, a flexible packaging byproduct that could be used for future end markets and as a possible feedstock.

Buying online is growing, and FPL Food LLC in Augusta, Ga., has been leaning into this trend while also selling large volumes of beef to retail stores, foodservice and food manufacturing partners.

The speed of technology and the move to smart manufacturing assets on the food plant floors are tremendous, but companies are struggling as operator roles evolve. So, what are companies doing? Turning to more technology.

Food waste is a big part of the conversation with consumers in 2023. Consumer research conducted by Do Good Foods in September 2022 reveals that “Americans want to be more climate-friendly, and nearly half are more concerned about food waste than they were a year ago.”

Italian-based Pasta Garofalo has introduced biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film material to its line of select pasta products. This new mono-film material is the product of advanced recycling via some form of pyrolysis—an anaerobic high-heat process that breaks down commingled plastics and produces oil and, eventually, a polymer resin for packaging film material or other uses.

In 2021, the American Pet Products Association reported that “pet parents” in the U.S. spent $50 million on pet food and treats. Not surprisingly, Frost and Sullivan predicts that the pet food industry will grow by 6.6% annually until 2026.

In a FOOD ENGINEERING interview, a PMMI VP said that three-quarters of food manufacturers were expected to spend money on new equipment from 2020-2025. PMMI’s Jorge Izquierdo, VP of market development at PMMI, said the driver behind the increase in processing and packaging purchases was “to leverage new technologies that offer increased flexibility.”